Why You Should Be Nice to Role Players
by overcheatedXdreamer
Summary: The Elves of Rivendell take a strange new prisoner. Title of story is stil undecided.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I'm back, with the help of my brilliant new beta reader! If you are an avid reader of my other stories, then this is going to seem very familiar. And if you are new to my writing, I think I will purposely keep it vague so I don't spoil anything for you. So read on, and don't forget to review!

"Okay, that stays here. That goes comes with me…hey, my lucky socks!" I cried triumphantly. My mother sighed and threw her hands in the air.

"You lost those two years ago! How did we not find them before?" she demanded. I shrugged, and threw the pair of socks into the laundry basket. I was once again packing, ready to return to Northeastern University for my junior year. As good as it had felt to be home for a few weeks, I was even more excited to go back to school. "You have so much junk in here, Lena. This is going to be the year I just go through your entire throw out all of the crap that you never use or find," she continued to complain. I rolled my eyes.

She had been moody ever since I told her about my two friends from school and I getting an apartment off-campus. I wasn't just going back to Northeastern, I was officially moving out. "Okay, Mom." I sealed off the box with all of my pictures in it and labeled it, then got started on the plates and cups, carefully wrapping each item in bubble wrap before placing it in the box.

I heard my mother start coughing violently and I twisted around to see her emerging from under my bed, a dust ball clinging to her nose. I cracked up and received a sour look from her in return. "Okay, why don't we just take a break? We can continue packing later, after dinner," she said wearily. I just shrugged.

"Fine by me. I'm supposed to meet Andrew at the park to practice in about an hour, anyways." My mother wiped her forehead and sent me a sideways glance.

"Andrew, huh?"

I rolled my eyes at her. "Mom, he is my friend. Stop it." She just grinned. God, she was completely nuts. Andrew was my best friend of ten years., and he had finally gotten out of the awkward stage last summer. His thin, wiry frame had filled out, giving way to the ripped swimmer's body so that every girl gravitated to him like bees to honey. The red, painful acne that had been the brunt of so many jokes in high school and still sometimes as a freshman in college had completely cleared up. Even I had to admit, it was a huge change, and not an unpleasant one all-together.

"I will stop when that boy finally comes to his senses and asks you on a date," my mom continued as I slipped into my jogging shorts and a t shirt. "And when it finally does happen, just remember I was rooting for you two before he had girls falling all over him." I pulled a face at her and motioned for her to leave.

"Good-bye, Mom," I said pointedly. I heard her bedroom door close and let out a sigh of relief before looking in the mirror. If my mom caught me trying to make sure I looked nice for Andrew, I would never hear the end of it. I ducked into the hallway and glanced around to make sure my mom really was in her room, then threw off the tee and traded it in for Lycra workout tank. I debated on what to do with my hair. The humidity was making my curls stand nearly on end, making my hair look like one giant, brown cotton ball. I grimaced and pulled it into a bun. It was an improvement, but not by much.

Satisfied, I slipped on my old, worn in sneakers and grabbed my lacrosse stick. I threw my deodorant, a small hand towel, a bottle of Gatorade and a bag of Fritos in a Northeastern knapsack and bounded down the stairs, calling out to my mom that I was leaving. I was met at the bottom of the stairs by my little brother, Jay, and my Siamese kitten, Sammy. I scooped up Sammy and rubbed my nose against her's.

"Can I come?" Jay pleaded. I shook my head.

"Tomorrow, Jay," I said, switching Sammy to my other arm. My brother pouted. "Please?"

"Don't do this today, kid. I promise we will hang tomorrow." Jay just silently stared past me. The only sign he was angry was the small crease between his brows. I had to hand it to him. He was stubborn, even for a nine year old. I set down my lacrosse stick and Sammy and bent over to be at the same level as my brother.

His blue eyes were downcast and his bottom lip stuck out slightly. "It's fine. You can go hang out with stupid Andrew and move into your stupid apartment in stupid Boston and forget all about your stupid brother. I don't care." I sighed and gently cradled his chin, turning his head to look at me. I had never seen Jay so miserable.

"Hey, buddy," I said gently, ruffling his think brown hair. "I'm not going to forget about you. I'll stick come back for holidays and stuff. It isn't going to be any different from the past two years. I'll be back before you even have a chance to miss me."

"You sound like Dad," he said simply, before running up to his room. I thought about trying to call him back down, but decided against it. I would talk with him when I got back from the park, and I would make sure that tomorrow we had some sibling bonding time.

I looked out the window. The sun was shining. I could hear the birds singing to each other in the trees and bushes and the guy across the street mowing his lawn. But the conversation with my brother had left me feeling guilty and exhausted. Hoping that a game of lacrosse with Andrew would take some of the stress from the move off my mind, I grabbed my stick and headed out the door. It took me a moment, though, before I finally registered a little streak of brown and white darting across the lawn.

"Sammy!" Without a second thought, I sprinted off after the kitten, dropping my duffel bag and lacrosse stick on the steps. Sammy had managed to get into the woods. They weren't deep, but even if she managed to make it pass the creek, which I doubted, that would lead her right onto the highway. I panicked, thinking about the traffic moving back and forth. They wouldn't even have time to stop for her.

I ran faster, praying that I would be able to overtake her. Luckily, I didn't have to go very far once I broke through the tree line. Only a few feet into the woods, I saw Sammy sitting on a fallen tree. She was watching me and greeted me with a small _meow_. I nearly cried with relief. "Oh, Sammy! Come here, baby," I cooed, walking towards her. Grey eyes stared serenely at my outstretched arms before she bounded off quickly farther into the woods.

"Sh**," I growled, sprinting after her. I was so focused on the tiny kitten running in front of me that I didn't even see the raised tree root until my foot hooked around it, sending me tumbling towards the small ravine that I recognized as the one next to the creek. It barely flitted through my mind that the creek was nearly dried up from the lack of any recent rain, and I squeezed my eyes against the view of the sharp stones below me.


	2. Chapter 2

Every part of my body ached. Even opening my eyes took too much effort. A small _meow _echoed in my ear. Sammy? I mumbled. I managed to twist my head a little to look at the kitten rubbing herself against my arm. I sighed heavily and winced as I felt something sharp jab me in the stomach. I made a mental note to not breathe. Finally, I decided to see if I could sit.

The sun was too bright, hurting my eyes. I was definitely still in the woods. The question was, _which woods_? I looked around, ignoring my protesting aches and pains, more than slightly alarmed. I knew the woods behind my house like the back of my hand. But I didnt recognize anything around me. The foliage was too lush and old. I didnt hear the familiar sounds of cars in the distance whizzing down the highway. There were no birds chirping, and it was disgustingly humid, like it had just recently rained. I looked down.

The water in the creek next to me looked to be about a couple of feet deep, and I was completely soaked. Not only that, it was getting dark out. I tried not to panic. I had obviously hit my head when I fell, and that was why I felt like I didnt recognize anything. If I followed the creek upstream, I would eventually come to McDaniels backyard and I could call my mom from there so she wouldnt worry. I tried to get up and stopped, pressing my lips together in an effort not to scream. My left shoulder was killing me. I clutched it in pain and took a few deep, calming breaths. Making sure not to jostle my shoulder around, I got to my feet and started walking, grabbing Sammy with the uninjured arm.

I had dislocated my shoulder three times while playing lacrosse, and every time it happened I always managed to forget how much it hurt. Sammy yawned against my chest and I saw her eyes start to close. At least someone was enjoying this little adventure.

I walked for at least an hour. By that time, the sun had gone down. I was in the woods, by myself, at night. Not only that, I shouldve reach the McDaniels five minutes after I started walking, meaning that for some impossible reason, these were not the woods I had been running through earlier. I could feel my breathing become more rapid and I tried not to hyperventilate. Every once in a while I could hear a creak or a groaning. Bushes rustled and once or twice I thought I heard growling.

Finally, I sat down and started crying. I was hungry, tired, dirty and in pain. I wanted to go home and I was so confused as to where I was. I cried quietly so I wouldnt wake Sammy, but it was no use. I felt her struggling in my arm, wanting to be allowed to explore, but I held tightly. I just sat there, wondering what to do, until I heard something behind me. Once again, I assumed that I was imagining things, but the rustling came again, louder. Whatever was behind me wanted me to know it was there. It almost sounded like footsteps. Sammy lifted herself to stare curiously over my shoulder at whoever was approaching. I tried not to move, until I felt something sharp poke me in the back.

I began screaming as loud as I could. I couldnt defend myself worth a damn, having only one good arm, but I was going to make sure I got the attention of anyone nearby. The person behind me shouted, just before I twisted around and, ignoring my injured shoulder, threw myself at the persons knees. I was hoping to knock my attacker off balance and run for it. Unfortunately, it didnt do anything. I saw a flash of blonde hair, and then the world went black again.

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I woke up to people murmuring some feet away from me. I couldnt understand what they were saying, and it took me a little while just to figure out where the voices were coming from. In the dark I could vaguely make out the shapes of five people. Some were very still, as if they were sleeping. At least two of them were standing by the tree next to me, looking up at the sky and talking amongst themselves. I tried to get up, then whimpered as pain shot through my shoulder. Not only that, I had been gagged. I had been tied up around my wrists, knees, and ankles. Slowly, I began to realize that these people had kidnapped me. They must have knocked me out. I started to cry, hoping that they would see my tears and decide to let me go.

One of the figures nudged the other one and gestured towards me. _En_, the voice muttered. As the two figures approaching were men. A sinking feeling in the stomach told me that I should have pretended to be asleep. They both had long dark hair and wore leggings and tunics. One of the men knelt in front of me and studied me carefully. He was wearing a look of deep suspicion, and I knew that they wouldnt be letting me go anytime soon. He asked me something in the foreign language. It sounded like a question. I tried to tell him that I couldnt understand, but the bundle of cloth in my mouth and the sobs wracking my body made it difficult to get the words out.

The man took the gag out. Look, I told him tearfully, If you let me go I promise I wont tell anyone what happened. Ill just say I got lost. Just let me go! I pleaded. He gave me a strange look and shrugged his shoulders. The man had no idea what I was saying. I struggled to remain calm. It was so dark in the forest, I could barely see anything. The man tried another question, and I stared blankly at him. The man sighed and turned to the guy next to him.

Wait, next to him? I never even heard the other man kneel down next to me. I wrote it off as me being too scared to notice. In the dark I could see something glinting off of his hair. It looked like a crown of some sort. Tunics, leggings, crowns oh no.

I had been kidnapped by role players. I didnt know whether to burst out laughing or start crying at the fact that I had been kidnapped by crazy people. I knew it was a bad idea to have those weird kids holding their stupid Dungeons and Dragons conventions at the nearby park. And obviously, these psychos thought it was completely real. I started trying to piece everything together. They were a few losers left over from the convention, still caught up in their game of pretend. They were in the woods, playing their little fantasy game, found me unconscious and then kidnapped me.

__

That has to be it, I thought desperately to myself, _there is no other explanation._ But something about them wasnt right. The way that they walked with such ease, not making even the tiniest sounds on the forest floor. And their voices were so clear, so light. It made them sort of ethereal, almost inhuman.

I shook my head sharply, making the one with the crown raise his eyebrows in slight alarm. That was absolutely ridiculous. Of course they were human. What else could they be? _Oh yes, _I thought wryly, my eyes going to their ears, _elves. They honestly think that they are elves._ Suddenly, one of the men that I thought had been sleeping jumped up. I almost scooted back. The movement was so fast and smooth, almost like dancing. It left me nearly awestruck, especially when he shouted and gracefully leaped farther into the woods, out of sight from the rest of us. All of the men were standing, tense, staring into the forest. I felt clumsy just breathing in front of them; they were all that still.

Feeling uncomfortable, I tried shifting around to find a position that would hurt my shoulder less. As soon as I moved, though, the man who had not been wearing the crown pointed a small knife at me. **_Sal! _**he whispered sharply. I eyed the knife carefully and shrank back against the tree trunk. I tried to sniff back the tears I could feel threatening to break loose. The man still continued watching me with a disapproving look on his face. Only then did I notice the arrows on his back, and the bow in his other hand. He sheathed the small blade and notched an arrow to his bow.

I couldnt help it. I began to cry harder. I was outnumbered by five guys with weapons that I had no chance against, I had no idea where I was and my shoulder was burning. I didnt even think it was dislocated. After all the stress to the injury, I probably tore up the joint. The man still kept his arrow up, but glared at me again. **_Dina!_**

I cant! I sobbed, I cant understand you. I winced. The pain in my shoulder was becoming unbearable. Two figures broke into the small clearing. It was the man that had left, along with another dark haired man with a crown. All of the men visibly relaxed, and then the one that had been yelling at me came to my side.

**_Mani naa ta?_** I just cried harder, not bothering to respond. There was no use. These people didnt speak English, and my captors seemed less than sympathetic to my plight. The men with the crowns joined us.

**_Mani marti?_** one of the men with the crowns asked the other. His partner shrugged. My eyesight had now adjusted to the dark well enough for me to make out facial features. The men with the crowns were twins, I could tell that much. They looked exactly alike, with strong dark brows over deep-set eyes, and luminous, pale skin. They were very tall, and had the same strong, agile build that the other men seemed to have. They all still stared at me, until the one man without a crown reached out and touched my cheek, looking greatly concerned.

Dont touch me! I screeched, trying to turn away. I ended up trying to twist toward the wrong side and howled in agony when my shoulder hit the tree trunk. The man shushed me, and then gently pressed on the injured area. I hissed and shut my eyes against the pain. He said something to the men with the crown, and then softly called back to the company.

One of the party came over and looked down. The moonlight shone upon hair that was so blonde, it was almost white; it was the same shade of hair I had seen before I was knocked out. The man who seemed to be trying to help me at the moment pointed at himself. Túion. I assumed he was telling me his name. I nodded at him and repeated. Then he pointed at the man who was still standing. Lalaithion. Again, I nodded and repeated the name back to him.

Lalaithion spoke with Túion for a moment and then sat down next to me. He smiled at me and went about untying my hands. He didnt talked to me, instead smiling in an encouraging manner and humming quietly. I closed my eyes as he sang. He did have a beautiful voice. Once again, it was so perfect, and so utterly not human. I heard him leave for just a second. I thought about trying to take a swing at whoever was closest, but I knew I would never stand a chance against them in hand to hand combat, and I was plain exhausted. I barely had enough energy to stay awake, much less attempt to defend myself against lunatics in tights.

I opened my eyes when I felt Lalaithion sit next to me again. He was rummaging through a small, dirty knapsack. He pulled out what looked like a bandage and splints, and I let him fix up my shoulder. It wasnt easy. I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out when he moved around my arm, but Lalaithions bedside manner was so gentle and relaxing that the whole ordeal was not as painful as I had thought it would be. When he was done, he patted my bandaged arm lightly and grinned.

I was suddenly struck by how exquisite he was. I think it was the smile that forced me to acknowledge that no average man could be so perfect. It wasnt just the looks. The way they all talked, they way they all moved, was surreal, like looking at art in motion. All of them were simply perfect. There was no other way to describe them.

I felt my mouth drop open as I stared at him, completely floored by this being sitting in front of me. The thought should have scared me, but I couldnt be afraid. They felt toogood. Pure. They were many things, but evil was not one of them, could not be one of them. I looked from Lalaithion, to Túion, to the men with the crowns, and tried to figure out why exactly they had kidnapped me.

What do you want? I demanded. Lalaithion looked at me in confusion. Are you only pretending to not understand me? The two men with the crowns had walked away while I was being bandaged up, probably satisfied with knowing that I wouldnt attempt to run away at the moment. Túion seemed almost on the verge of joining them.

There was no use. I waved them away with my free hand and slumped against the tree trunk. Lalaithion sighed and went to join the rest of the group. One of the twins was talking in a low voice while the rest of the party stood around, listening intently to him. I couldnt hear what the man was saying. I probably wouldnt be able to understand it. Túion never left my side, although I saw him watching the group and nodding every once in awhile.

How in the world did I get here? How long had I been out for? Obviously, long enough for these things to kidnap me and take me out of the woods without being seen by anybody. I had no idea where they had taken me. These woods, forest, actually, would be more appropriate, were not familiar to my area at all. I had never known there to be an abundance of evergreens and old trees in my neck of Virginia. The amount of moisture in the air left a light sheen of water and sweat on my exposed skin. All of this added up to one thing: I was very far away from home, and I couldnt hear any signs of civilization. Even if I did manage to escape, which was looking highly unlikely, I would probably die trying to get out of this god forsaken place. For now, I would do what they wanted. I would wait and see if they came into contact with anyone that looked like they might possibly be able to help me, and then I would make a run for it.

I eyed the creature standing at my side. He seemed to be just as tall as the others, with the same waist-length, dark hair. He was of a slightly thicker build than the rest of the males in the party, probably the strongest out of them all. It was only my amazing luck that they chose him to be my guard. I glared moodily at my sling, and then down at the ground. I was thirsty, and my arm still hurt. My stomach grumbled loudly. Túion glanced down at me.

**_Aníral aes?_** he asked me. My stomach growled even louder in response, and I covered my abdomen with my free arm, wishing for the rumbling noises to go away. But I couldnt help it. Now that I was thinking about food, my stomach wouldnt stop protesting. I didnt know how long it had been since I had food. He rummaged around in the pack next to him and took out a few small packages and a flask. He unwrapped one of the packages and held it out to me. It looked like some sort of pastry, but I knew better than to just accept food from a complete stranger. I watched him suspiciously, until he broke off a corner of the pastry and popped it in his mouth.

**_Lembas_**, he said after he was done chewing. Hesitantly, I took it from him and bit off a small portion. It was good, and my stomach was already content. After only three more bites, I was nearly full. T|uion laughed quietly when I continued to eat, even after I was certain that my stomach was going to burst. I stared warily at the flask in his hand, and he took a sip to prove it that there was nothing wrong with it. I waited a few seconds, and when I was satisfied he wasnt going to keel over and die, I took a sip from the bottle.

I didnt know what they had given me to drink, but it was amazing. A great warmth spread throughout my body and I felt incredibly chipper for someone in my situation. My shoulder didnt hurt as bad, and I couldnt care less that I was dirty and far away from home.

T|uion! I grinned. He looked down, very amused by my sudden change of heart. What in the world did you just give me? I questioned him. He raised his eyebrows and laughed, a sound so beautiful I almost felt tears forming in my eyes. Then he called over to the group, who all starting laughing when they saw the wild smile plastered on my face. I looked ridiculous, I knew that, but I couldnt help it! Everything about my horrible situation seemed to be looking up and I was so hopeful that this was all a bad dream and I would wake up soon.

After regarding me for a long moment, T|uion sat down next to me, cross-legged, on the ground. Though he still kept his small knife out at the ready, he had relaxed somewhat. It was a relief, knowing that they were considering me less of a flight risk. Hopefully, that would work in my favor when I tried to escape.

Whatever these things were that had kidnapped me, they were incredibly strange. One moment, they would be huddled together, talking and laughing in soft, musical voices. Once or twice, someone would jump up and begin to sing in that pleasant language they all seemed to speak, and the rest would jump in. Songs of happiness, and regret, and despair, each emotion crashing over me as they changed tune, to the point where I would have a carefree smile on my face, and just as suddenly break into tears.

But then the atmosphere would change. They would stop as on, looking off into different directions, heads tilted to the side, listening to some unheard voice. And their gazes were so intent and piercing, I was almost afraid to have them look at me.

__

Angels, I thought. But there were no wings, and I highly doubted angels went around taking random people hostage in the woods. I had no idea what these creatures were, but when I thought of elves, I thought of little guys with bells on their shoes. I stole a quick glance at T|uion. No, he did not fit my schema of an elf, but for lack of a better term for these creatures, I decided that I would go with that for the present. Whatever they were, they didnt seem too bad at the moment, and they were nice when they were not pointing their weapons at me and knocking me out. Bastards.

T|uion, at the moment, was humming along with something that Lalaithion was singing to the rest of the group, a serene smile gracing his face. I leaned back against the tree, careful not to rub my shoulder the wrong way, and let out a deep sigh. I was so tired, but I didnt want to fall asleep before them. When the elf was done singing, he came over to me and knelt down, runing his hand over my shoulder.

Hmm. He looked very dissatisfied with what he saw, but shrugged helplessly, looking through the pack at his side. He pulled out a silver flask and held it up, speaking quickly to T|uion. The bigger elf gave a small nod and responded. Lalaithion bounded away, leaving me to wonder what he was up to now. His white-blonde hair bobbed low to the ground, looking for something at the base of a tree across the clearing. The rest of the company was watching him curiously, until he held up a blanket and ran gracefully back over to me.

I tried to push away the blanket. No, I dont want it, I stubbornly told him. But he continued to shove the blanket at me, frowning a little, until I finally took it. He gave me the flask and motioned for me to drink, but I just stared at it. T|uion got the message, grabbing the flask from Lalaithion and taking a small sip, and then handed it back to me. Once again, I waited to make sure he didnt keel over and die before I took a sip.

I felt the same ball of warmth growing in my stomach like before, and the pain had completely disappeared form my shoulder. Thanks, I said quietly. I shook my shoulder curiously, wondering if the liquid only worked when I was sitting still. Lalaithion grabbed my arm gently and shook a reproachful finger.

**_Posto dan_**, he said with a hint of irritation in his voice. I rolled my eyes and lay back against the tree again, snuggling up under the blanket. **_Losto_**, he said, patting my knee.

Huh? Lalaithion laughed and rested his head on clasped hands, mimicking sleep. I shook my head. No. If you dont sleep, I dont sleep. If they decided to move while I was sleeping, I would be even more lost. I wanted to see where they would be taking me, and if I was able to recognize anything along the way. Lalaithion pursed his lips and tapped his finger against his chin, probably figuring out what to do with me. But I didnt care how nice they were being. I was not going to make this easy for them.

I attempted to stare him down (and failed miserably), before he suddenly turned his back to me. I heard him rummaging through the bag and looked at T|uion with raised eyebrows. He merely gave me a wide smile and shrugged. Hardly a moment had passed before Lalaithion faced me again, the flask presented to my chapped lips.

Did he really think I was that stupid? He had obviously done something to the drink. I pushed the flask away and glared at T|uion. Okay, buddy. You know the drill. I expected that an imposing-looking man like T|uion would get tired of my attitude very quickly, but he continued to surprise me. He gave me the same, easy-going grin and raised the flask in a toast, yelling something to the rest of his companions, who all responded with laughs and raised drinks of their own. One of the serious elves with the crowns slowly stood and began singing a sad, slow song that brought tears to my eyes.

It was almost painful to look away from the handsome elf with the tortured expression on his face, but I forced myself to concentrate on T|uion. I didnt wan these things trying to pull one over on me. He took a large gulp from the flask and waited, then handed it back to me. I knew nothing would happen to him, but I was still suspicious. Why did they keep shoving this down my throat. T|uion shrugged and started to take back the flask, but I moved to cover it.

Whatever they were feeding me, it was making me feel great and taking away the pain. No sooner had I taken my third sip than the world around me began to spin. My limbs felt heavy and the lethargy was kicking in, big time. I tried to force my tongue to work, to ask what they had given me, but it was no use. The last thing I saw before my eyes closed was T|uion, tucking the blanket under my chin.


End file.
